Our guest speaker will be Prof. Sean Redmond (UL), who will discuss with us “Why we should be bothered about the influence that locally based criminal networks have on children. The Greentown study into the influence of criminal networks in children’s offending behaviour in Ireland 2010-2014”. The seminar will be introduced by Dr. Berlusconi.
There is significant evidence now available to isolate the risk factors associated with youth related offending, permitting policy and programme intervention to offset such risks. However, there is a smaller group of youth responsible for a significantly disproportionate amount of crime and potentially involved in adult crime networks. Far less is known about the contexts of these youth in the mainstream risk science related literature and from national datasets in Ireland. This seminar will outline the background to the Greentown study, its objectives, the limitations of the extant knowledge on children’s involvement in adult criminal networks and key research findings. The paper will also highlight the key policy implications arising from the Greentown study.
Prof. Sean Redmond is Adjunct Professor of Youth Justice, seconded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) to the School of Law, University of Limerick (UL) where he is leading a joint DCYA/UL project to develop the evidence base to improve youth crime policy decision-making in Ireland. Prior to this Sean worked in the Research and Evaluation Unit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs with the lead responsibility for evaluation. Over the last 25 years Sean has held positions as; Head of Young Offender Programmes Irish Youth Justice Service; Assistant Director of Children's Services, Barnardos; Director PACE prisoners' resettlement service. Prior to this Sean held positions in management and practice in the youth justice system in the United Kingdom